“This is a steep reduction,” said ACEA president, Dieter Zetsche. “It’s also in line with what is expected of other industry sectors, as well as the EU Climate and Energy Framework and the global Paris agreement.”

The association said the reduction is conditional on the real market uptake of electric and plug-in vehicles and said that without any adequate action at national level, a higher market uptake of such vehicles remains “beyond reach” and would require increased investment in recharging and incentives to be run by individual member states.

The target would be subject to a mid-term review in 2025 and could be revised up or down accordingly.

“In our opinion, this conditionality principle links Europe’s long-term climate objectives to the reality of the market,” Mr Zetsche added. “Currently the reality is that the market uptake of electrically chargeable vehicles is low – and this is not due to lack of availability and choice.”

The ACEA also highlighted its latest data showing that in the first half of 2017 electrically-chargeable vehicles made up 1.2% of total new car sales.

The proposal comes as carmakers unveiled latest new models and concepts at Frankfurt with a heavy focus on electric vehicles.

However, the organisation said that modern diesel technology will continue to play an important role in the gradual transition to low-carbon vehicles.

Mr Zetsche added: “The latest generation of diesel vehicles is a very effective lever to achieve climate goals in the near future, because they emit 15-20% less CO2 than equivalent petrol vehicles.”

Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for 16 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day. As Business Editor, Natalie ensures the group websites and newsletters are updated with the latest news.